Today, singer, songwriter BabyJake drops his highly-anticipated debut EP, Don’t give me problems, give me wine—listen HERE!
https://babyjake.lnk.to/DGMPGMWPR
The seven-song genre-blurring EP includes his latest single, “Head In The Clouds,” out now.
Don’t give me problems, give me wine jumps from exuberant pop to moody sunset-slicked folk. The EP features BabyJake’s breakout songs, “Confidant,” “Blue Cellophane” and “MadHappySad,” alongside four new tracks, “Head In The Clouds,” “(Consumption)(Addiction),” “Bread & Butter” and “Anywhere,” which are each accompanied by unique and compelling visuals shot by Alex Hall.
Of the EP, BabyJake says, “‘Don’t give me problems, give me wine’ is a special project for me. It’s the first time in my life I’ve really felt like the songs all make sense and have a genuine feeling. It took me awhile to figure out who I was as an artist, and this project fully embodies that,”
This past spring, BabyJake teamed up with Dillon Francis on his tracks, “You Do You” and “Touch,” which Billboard Dance praised, saying, “Florida vocalist BabyJake delivers the track’s smooth-as-silk vocals over Francis’ slinky production.” The singer, songwriter capped off 2019 with over 25 million streams across his first three singles and live performances of “Blue Cellophane” and “239” for Vevo DSCVR’s ‘Artist to Watch’ 2020 campaign, which he was 1 of 20 emerging artists selected.
Stay tuned for more from BabyJake this year! Follow him on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/itsbabyjake/
More about BabyJake:
Jake Herring, the artist who records as BabyJake, has a complicated relationship with music. Growing up in Fort Meyers, Florida, Herring first picked up the guitar when he was eight years old. “My dad actually played guitar,” Herring says. “He used to sing in the Navy band and taught me ‘Smoke on the Water’ on guitar, and from there I just picked it up on YouTube and started playing.” Like a lot of other kids his age, Herring’s interest in music happened to coincide with the release and subsequent ubiquitous popularity of the Guitar Hero video game, which emphasized guitar theatrics over quieter playing. “I was listening to AC/DC…you know, all the classic records that you would hear on rock radio. I didn’t even want to be a singer. I just wanted to play guitar.”
Herring, it should be noted, is 6’ 6” and very athletic. By the time he was in high school, he was juggling a deep, somewhat private love of music with genuine enthusiasm for sports and partying with his friends. He didn’t feel like he fit in in any specific social group, and soon felt alienated. “I was just kind of sad,” he says. “I remember always feeling like I wasn’t in the right place.” For solace, Herring turned to his dad’s folk records, favoring the low-key contemplative sounds that resonated with the sense of alienation that he was feeling. “When I was in a mood, when I would feel anger or sadness, I’d go to the guitar,” he says. Though he maybe wasn’t conscious of it at the time, Herring was priming himself to be a sort of musical chameleon. Well versed in the building blocks of rock music, the intimacy of folk, and with an innate understanding of the rap and pop music he grew up around, he was constructing a well of disparate influences to draw from when he eventually made a serious go at a music career, it just took him a second to get there.
First, Herring gave college a try, thinking he’d maybe get a marketing degree while also living it up and partying. About a year in, he realized he didn’t want to be at school, and he was maybe interested in partying a little less, too. “I got depressed again, and I started playing the guitar and writing heavily, and I just fell in love with it again,” he says. He and his friends made “Bright Blue Eyes,” a song he says, “sounded really bad but got a little bit of notoriety on Soundcloud.” That song, along with one other key moment, was enough to convince him that maybe he could try to leave college and make a go at this music thing. “One of my best friends is named Aaron,” he says. “The turning point actually came from him. I was drunk one night and went to his apartment and I was playing guitar and I remember closing my eyes and jamming and then probably 30 minutes later [he was like], ‘You’re pretty good at this. You should try to do something with it.’” Herring brushed him off, but Aaron grabbed the neck of his guitar and said “No seriously. Do something, because you don’t want to be here.”
Herring dropped out of college and started writing songs as often as he could, and after narrowing down his six favorites, he convinced his dad to give him a loan so he could record them in a local Florida studio that gave him a Valentine’s Day discount. Before too long, he had his first official body of work: The Little Mess, which evolved into a multifaceted career that currently involves his own music as “BabyJake,” a record label called daycare with an added merch/streetwear line, and a budding career penning and producing songs with artists like Dillon Francis. Herring and Francis’ collaborations, the club-ready “Touch” and poolside dance gem “You Do You” both have more than five million streams combined to date.
Herring debuted as BabyJake in 2019 with his viral single “Cigarettes on Patios,” which has accumulated over 35 million streams to date. The piano-led anthem is accented by subtle snaps and booming drums that follows a night of party-hopping, but with a slightly dark edge. This theme of partying and coming down, of love and regret, of anger and frustration, is a crucial part of his music. Herring’s perceptiveness is what makes him a good songwriter and is a common theme throughout his music.
Toward the end of 2019, BabyJake was named one of VEVO DSCVR’s Artists To Watch 2020, and now he is preparing to release his debut EP, Don’t give me problems, give me wine, a seven song collection that jumps from exuberant pop to moody sunset-slicked folk, and even includes a psychedelic digression on substance abuse. The EP opens with “Blue Cellophane,” as Herring meditates on loneliness, addiction, and the pitfalls of giving yourself over to another human over a warm guitar stomp that evokes dimly lit blues halls, and a country swing that is present in so much of the music of the ’70s that he loves. Elsewhere, on “MadHappySad,” Herring combines disparate influences—think Kanye circa 808s and Heartbreaks by way of vintage Police—to create a modern, tense reggae inflected breakup jam. While on the bouncy, jangly “Head in the Clouds,” he explores the hidden weight of emotional escape, juxtaposing bright guitarwork against moody lyrics about self-defeat and the pitfalls of depression and avoidance. “Confidant,” (over 3.5 million Spotify streams to date), on the other hand, is about navigating the knotty feeling of bitterness that comes from being jerked around in a relationship. But on the last two songs—the one-two punch of “Bread and Butter” and the choir assisted “Anywhere”—Herring steps away from the party, slows down, draws on the warmth of lush ’70s southern rock, and the moody crawl of the folk music he grew to love to create a mature, horn-drenched suite that feels like the result of an artist older than his years, someone who has lived recklessly and loved hard and is ready to put it all on record.
